Vibratory therapeutic cushion



Jan. 12, J STER, JR 2,920,618

VIBRATORY THERAPEUTIC CUSHION Filed April 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 28, 1958 United States PlttitltQ VIBRATORY THERAPEUTIC CUSHION John Oster, Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to John Oster Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of 7 Wisconsin Application April 28, 1958, Serial No. 731,453

7 Claims. (Cl. 128-33) This invention relates to vibratory therapeutic cushions and has as its purpose to provide an improved device of this, type which is capable of being sold at a relatively modest price, and yet is highly effective and achieves certain improved results not heretofore obtained with such cushions.

One of the more specific objects of this invention is to provide a device of the character described wherein the vibration producing motor unit is fully and directly encapsulated in a soft, resilient body molded of sponge rubber or, more desirably, of urethane foam.

- Another object of this invention is to provide a vibrator-y therapeutic cushion having a motor unit of simplified and improved construction which includes a housing having opposite substantially fiat walls, one of which is considerably larger in area than the other, and which walls underlie the opposite sides of the cushion and define the vibration transmitting areas thereof, so that one side of the cushion has a relatively large massage area for general utility, and the other side thereof has a smaller massage area for localized application.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims. I

The accompanying drawings illustrate one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention, constructed according to the best mode so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vibratory therapeutic cushion made in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view through the cushion;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the motor unit with part of its cover section broken away;

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view through Figure 3 on the plane of the line 44;

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view through Figure 4 on the plane of the line 55;

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view through Figure 3 on the plane of the line 6-6; and

Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the electrical con nections of the motor and the manner of connecting the same with a power source.

Referring now particularly to the accompanying drawings, the numeral 3 designates the body of the vibratory therapeutic cushion of this invention. It is formed of soft, pliable resilient material and has a motor unit 4 embedded therein. Preferably, the body 3 is encased in a removable cover 5 which may be formed of any suitable fabric or plastic material, and is detachably held in place by a Zipper fastener 6.

The motor unit 4 comprises a motor 7 and a housing ice 8 in which the motor is mounted in such a way that the walls of the housing are vibrated by the motor and hence constitute the vibration transmitting members of the motor unit. Although the motor 7 may be of any of the conventional types employed to produce vibration, as for instance the unbalanced rotating kind used in the familiar hand-held massagers like that of the Doran Patent No.v

E-shaped laminated magnet core or frame 14. This core' or frame .14 is secured to one arm 15 of a U-shaped armature 16 formed of resilient metal. The other arm 17 of the U-shaped armature is solidly mounted upon a bottom plate 18 which is stamped and formed of suitable sheet metal and constitutes part of the motor housing 8. The extremity of the armature arm 17 projects upwardly from the plate 18 and is bent laterally, as at 19, to underlie the adjacent end of the outer leg of the magnet frame or' core 14.

Thus, upon energization of the coil 11, either by ordinary A.C. current or rectified pulsating current, the free arm 15' of the U-shaped armature and the entire structure carried thereby is caused to vibrate with an amplitude depending upon whether or not the entire coil or only a part thereof is connected into the circuit. When the control switch 10 is in its intermediate position and only part of the coil is connected into the circuit, the amplitude of the vibrations is at its maximum; and when the switch is in its dotted line position shown in Figure 7, and the entire coil is connected across the power source, the amplitude of the vibrations is reduced. Thus, the massaging effect of the cushion can be mild or more penetrating, as dewith rounded corners and with an upturned flange 21 7 extending about its perimeter. At its medial portion, the plate is dished downwardly in two circular, relatively shallow steps 22 and 23. It is the bottom wall 24 at the center of this downwardly dished portion to which the motor per se is secured, and preferably the securement is effected by rivets 25 extruded downwardly from the fixed bottom leg 17 of the armature, which pass through holes in the plate portion 24 and are riveted over theunderside thereof. The rectifier unit 20 is riveted to the first step 26 of the dished portion of th plate.

Providing the plate 18 with the multiple stepped formation just described, reinforces and stifiens the same, and assures better transmission of vibration from the motor per se to the entire area of the plate 18. The plate is further stiffened and reinforced by a series of large and small flanged holes 27 and 28, respectively,

, formed in the plate, the flanges 27 and 28' at the periphing 8, is a cover 29 which, like the bottom plate, is

stamped and formed of sheet metal. This cover has a frustoconical formation with a sloping side wall 30 and a substantially flat top wall 31, preferably reinforced by a circular bead 32 and a central embossure 33. A flange 34 extending outwardly from the periphery or base of the side wall 30 seats flat against the bottom plate, and rivets 35 extruded from the bottom plate and passing through this flange solidly secure the cover to the bottom plate. The cover and the bottom plate thus not only form a complete enclosure for the motor but, in addition, provide a pair of substantially flat parallel vibration transmitting walls or members, one of which is small in area and the other relatively large.

The supply cord 9 and, more particularly, the three leads 9 thereof which extend from the control switch to the motor and the rectifier, enter the motor housing through an access opening or tunnel 36 formed by an indentation in the bottom plate extending radially out from the step 22 under and beyond the periphery of the flange 34 of the cover; and, although the leads 9' are not completely illustrated in Figure 3, it is understood that they are connected with the coil terminals and the rectifier, in the manner indicated in Figure 7.

The body 3 is one homogeneous mass of the chosen material, and it is formed by molding the same directly around the motor unit. This is best done by placing the motor unit in an appropriate mold, properly spaced and positioned with respect to the walls of the mold, and then filling the mold with the material of which the body is to be formed. If the body is to be formed of sponge rubber, the conventional procedure in molding that material will, of course, be followed and, in this event, the holes 27 and 28, which become filled with the material, help in the curing by permitting the hot curing air to flow more readily through the body from one side to the other thereof.

Urethane foam, which is the preferred material for the body, is formed by the reaction of a di-isocyanate and polyfunctional reactive hydrogen compounds. Hence, in forming the body of this material, the two basic substances of which the material is formed, are thoroughly mixed in the liquid state and then immediately poured into the mold, which of course has the motor unit properly positioned therein. In a very short time the reaction between the two basic substances converts the liquid admixture thereof into a soft, yieldable, resilient cellular mass or body which completely fills the mold to thus define the contour of the cushion, and has the motor unit encapsulated therein. Urethane foam adheres strongly to the metal surfaces of the motor unit and, when heat cured, is fully stable; and if desired this material can be so molded that at the surfaces of the body its pores are closed, to thus obviate the need for a separate cover for the cushion.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that this invention provides a vibratory therapeutic cushion which possesses many advantages and constitutes a substantial improvement over prior devices of this type. It will also be apparent that, by encapsulating the motor unit in the manner described, complete assurance is had against shifting thereof inside the cushion, and that because of the shape of the motor housing and its disposition in the body of the cushion, one side of the cushion presents a large vibration applying area for general application. or treatment, while the other side thereof provides a smaller area of action for more localized treatment.

What is claimed as my invention is:

1. In a vibratory therapeutic cushion: a vibration producing motor unit including a pair of substantially flat rigidly connected but spaced apart vibration transmitting members, one of which is considerably larger in area thanthe' other; and a layer of resilient, pliable material directly overlying each'of said members and providing the opposite sides of the cushion so that one side of the cushion has a relatively large vibration transmitting area for general massage application, While the other side of the cushion has a smaller concentrated vibration transmitting area for localized massage application.

2. In a vibratory therapeutic cushion: a vibration producing motor; a housing for the motor comprising a pair of spaced apart generally flat parallel and relatively rigid walls, the area of one of 'which is considerably larger than that of the other; means rigidly securing the motor to one of said walls so that upon operation of the motor said wall vibrates; means rigidly connecting said walls so that both of them constitute vibration imparting members; and a homogeneous molded body of soft resilient material encapsulating the housed motor and defining the contour of the cushion, said body having opposite generally flat sides substantially parallel and adjacent to said two walls of the motor housing so that one side of the cushion has a relatively large vibration transmitting area while the other side thereof has a smaller more concentrated vibration transmitting area.

3. In the vibratory therapeutic cushion of claim 2, the structure set forth therein further characterized by the fact that the motor comprises a U-sh-aped resilient armature, one leg of which is fixed to the housing wall upon which the motor is mounted, the other leg being free to flex toward and from the fixed leg, a magnet core fixed to said free leg, and a field coil mounted on said core so that energization of the coil, with alternating or unidirectional pulsating current causes the free leg of the armature and the parts carried thereby to vibrate.

4. In the vibratory therapeutic cushion of claim 3, the structure set forth therein further characterized by the provision of a rectifier inside the motor housing; and conductor means for connecting the rectifier and the coil in series with a source of AC. including an in-theline control switch.

5. In a vibratory therapeutic cushion, the structure of claim 2 wherein the means connecting said two housing walls is a frustoconical wall integral with the smaller of said two walls, and a marginal flange extending from the base of said frustoconical wall seated upon the other larger housing wall and riveted thereto.

6. The structure of claim 5, wherein the rivets by which the flange on the frustoconical wall is secured to the housing wall upon which the flange is seated, are extruded from said wall.

7. A vibratory therapeutic device comprising: a vibration producing motor unit consisting of a magnetic motor, a generally fiat plate-like sheet metal stamping, means securing the magnetic motor to the medial portion of said stamping, and a stamped metal cover over the motor and fixed to said plate-like stamping to coact therewith in providing a housing for the motor, the top of said cover being substantially flat and considerably smaller in area than the plate-like stamping, said plate-like stamping and the top of the cover providing spaced apart substantially parallel vibration transmitting members; and a homogeneous molded body of soft resilient material having the entire motor unit encapsulated directly therein, said body having opposite substantially flat sides one of which overlies the plate-like member and the other of which overlies the top of the cover so that one side of the body provides a relatively large massage area for general application while the other side of the body provides a smaller more concentrated massage area for localized application.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,135,312 Muokle Nov. 1, 1938 2,687,718 Britton Aug. 31, 1954 2,840,071 McNair June 24, 1958 

